Norway, along with its Danish and Dutch partners, is preparing to provide Ukraine with F-16 fighters “with longer-range strike capabilities.”
This was stated by Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide at a briefing with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba in Kyiv.
“We will be handing over Norwegian F-16s, which are updated and in good shape. Together with our Danish and Dutch colleagues, we are training Ukrainian pilots. Perhaps there will be even longer-range strike capabilities, which are very important for Ukraine now,” the minister said.
At the same time, when asked about the number and condition of the fighter jets, the diplomat only clarified that it was a “significant number.”
“When you ask how many will come from Norway, I cannot tell you the exact number, because there are also aircraft that have already been updated, in better fighting shape, and some fuselages that can be used for repair, among other things. I’ll be careful here – I won’t tell you the exact number,” the Norwegian Foreign Minister replied.
According to him, the most important thing in this matter is the state of the weapons with which the aircraft will be equipped, so the aircraft that will be in flight capability will be equipped with “the latest weapons,” Eide said.
The foreign minister also did not name a timeframe for the delivery of the fighter jets to Ukraine.
It is reported that Norway is preparing to transfer 22 F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine as part of an air coalition.
Some of them can be used as a donor of spare parts for the repair and maintenance of other Norwegian F-16s that will be transferred to the Ukrainian Air Force.
In addition to the aircraft themselves, Ukraine can also receive jet engines for fighter jets, auxiliary materials, training equipment, spare parts, and other equipment from Norway.
Earlier, on March 1, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy agreed to speed up the delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.
Rutte promised to work on this together with Norway, Belgium, and other countries in the F-16 coalition. At the time, Zelensky said that Ukraine expects the first part of these planes this year.
